"Atheism is not merely the denial of a dogma. It is the reversal of a subconscious assumption in the soul..." - Chesterton
"We do not really face two rival versions of Christianity. We face Christianity on the one hand and, on the other hand, some other religion that selectively uses Christian words, but is not Christianity." - J. Gresham Machen

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What I believe:
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord.
I believe he was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.
I believe he suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
I believe he descended to the grave and on the third day he rose again.
I believe he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
I believe he will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.
I believe we are saved by grace alone through faith alone. I believe the Bible is the word of God, without error or contradiction.
I believe God is sovereign over all the universe; omnipotent and omniscient in all things. I believe that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. I believe that pretty much covers it.

Sunday, 9 May 2010

The Paranoia of Marci McDonald

Marci McDonald writing about Canada's "Christian right" is about as convincing as Ted Byfield would be if he ever wrote a book about the nuances of the Quebec sovereignty movement. It's just not within their field of expertise -- or even the language they speak. That's a gentle way of saying McDonald doesn't know what the hell she's talking about.

Here are some excerpts form the Toronto Star Article:

Amid the stormy U.S. health-care debate of 2009, most Canadians were stunned to discover that one of their own was the star of a $2 million television campaign warning Americans about the perils of this country’s publicly funded medical system. Shona Holmes, the poster girl for that attack, turned out to be fronting a lawsuit against Ontario’s health ministry spearheaded by a Calgary-based Christian advocacy group named the Canadian Constitution Foundation.

Of course neither the commercial nor Ms Holmes had anything to do with Christianity. Nor, as Ezra points out on his blog, does the Canadian Constitutional Foundation.

Regarding the seeming reversal in public opinion on abortion she whines;

That blatant attempt to raise the emotional temperature in an already volatile debate comes as two U.S. polls show that, for the first time since 1995, opposition to abortion is on the rise while support for it is slipping even more sharply.

Of course, here is the typically liberal attitude that counts majority public opinion only when it agrees with them. If it goes against their own holy grail of thought, it is deluded, discounted and in need of correction.

At a New Brunswick press conference in the midst of the 2008 election campaign, Stephen Harper staked out his political legacy, arguing that under his government, the Canadian public had already become more conservative. Although he seemed to be referring to fiscal attitudes, social conservatives like Joseph Ben-Ami did not disagree. “In the real world, you measure success not so much on whether you won or lost but where the centre of gravity is,” Ben-Ami says. “And I think in this country, it has shifted somewhat to the right.” (emphasis mine, JK)

Here we see an ad hominem on Stephen Harper turned into an underhanded insinuation against the "religious right;" a totally manipulative amd disingenuous licence.

Writing of the expectations of said religious right upon his election, and their supposed disappointment at the lack of results, she says.

...those measures he did proffer seemed born of calculation, not conviction, many came across as awkward and opportunistic, executed under a veil of secrecy and withdrawn at the first sign they might exact too high a price at the voting booth.

It would be nice for her to present some examples of these withdrawn measures.

...the Prime Minister now sends his public blessings to prayer rallies where Christian nationalists brandishing Canadian flags are calling for a Bible-based theocracy.

Not disputing this, but just who is realistically calling for a "Bible-based theocracy?" Who are these people the Prime Minister is blessing? I'd like to hear.

In their idealized Christian nation, non-believers — atheists, non-Christians and even Christian secularists — have no place, and those in violation of biblical law, notably homosexuals and adulterers, would merit severe punishment and the sort of shunning that once characterized a society where suspected witches were burned. (????!!!!) Theirs is a dark and dangerous vision, one that brooks no dissent and requires the dismantling of key democratic institutions. A preview is on display south of the border, where decades of religious-right triumphs have left a nation bitterly splintered along lines of faith and ideology, trapped in the hysteria of overcharged rhetoric and resentment. (incredulous punctuation mine, JK)

Reading the above paragraph, one wonders just who is guilty of the "hysteria of overcharged rhetoric."

The whole article reveals a liberal in fear of her sacred agenda and past victories being threatened. One can imagine the exact opposite scenario; that of a social conservative rueing the creeping influence of liberalism and sexual immorality. In which case Ms McDonald wou be quite pleased with the direction things were going.

PS: Oddly enough, I think I may have gone to High School with Ms McDonald, if she is the same Marci McDonald who attend Saltfleet District High School in Stoney Creek Ontario in the late '50's and early '60's. I recall her being a top student, always at the top of the class, while I was somewhere in the middle. I sent her an e-mail once, asking her that very thing, but I post a link to my blog on my e-mail, so if it was her, that may be why she didn't reply.